Stubborn Mule African Proverb

When you receive advice that you refuse to follow, do not be surprised at the results.

You roll your eyes and say I know…I know but, in the end, a tree falls on you and you die ~ African Proverb

What is stubbornness

Stubbornness is basically a rooted resistance to change. Moreover, given that life is all about change, stubbornness is effective resistance to life itself. A fundamental resistance drives the person with stubbornness to being forced to do anything or experience anything against his will. The personality with stubbornness is over-sensitive to the possibility of having sudden or unwanted change imposed and sees the threat of it everywhere. Anything new, different, or involving change is perceived as a direct threat even if the change in question is positive and in the person’s best interests.

In the case of stubbornness, the early negative experiences typically consist of domestic instability or upheaval and the stress of having to suddenly put up with new situations. The situations causing such stress could be beyond the parents’ control, such as having to uproot in a time of war. The cumulative effect is a desperate desire for stability and familiarity, to stay put and have everything nailed into place, and to fend off anything new or unfamiliar.

Because of this constant fear, the individual will crave permanence, stability and predictability. Therefore, the basic coping strategy is to resist change and any possibility of change. The chief feature of stubbornness will often insist nothing is wrong in the first place, no matter what evidence there is to the contrary, but once illness has occurred, it then strives to continue the pattern so that nothing so dangerous as new improvement is permitted. All people are capable of this kind of behavior. When it dominates the personality, however, one is said to have a chief feature of stubbornness.

You roll your eyes and say I know…I know but, in the end, a tree falls on you and you die ~ African Proverb